Shooting victim's family speaks out

The family of a Spokane Valley man is speaking out less than a day after he was shot and killed by deputies who were attempting to serve a warrant Saturday morning.

48-year-old Roy Jacobs Junior was shot by deputies Saturday morning at the Somerset Meadows apartments in Spokane Valley. He called law enforcement to turn himself in on an arrest warrant, but deputies say a confrontation led to Jacobs getting shot. He died at the hospital. Investigators found a 12-inch knife at the scene.

Jacobs' niece Traci Doud says she was in the apartment when deputies fired an unknown number of shots at her uncle.

"He had a knife that was in a big thick case, that was in the chair behind him. I did not see it in his hand at all, I did not see him make anything aggressive towards the cops. I saw him take one step forward and that was it," Doud said.

Many relatives who talked with KXLY believe her, including Jacobs' son Joe Beck.

"I'm wondering why it had to happen this way," Beck said.

Beck says his dad was a plumber, a funny man, and very charming. He contends the shooting saying Jacobs' arrest warrant was for child support, not for something violent. Beck also claims his dad tried to turn himself in on the warrant a month ago, but was turned away.

"Both times he was sent away by the police department because the jails were too crowded with real criminals," Beck said.

According to family members, Roy Jacobs Jr. was hanging out at his brother's apartment Friday night and Saturday morning before the shooting happened. The Spokane County Sheriff's office, Washington State Patrol, and Spokane Police Department are investigating with the SPD being the managing agency. They haven't said what led up to the shooting.

Joe Beck said Sunday he doesn't think it was justified.

"Cops could have beaten him up, they could have taken his weapon, tazed him, talked to him, anything besides shoot-to-kill," he said.

After the investigation is complete, it'll be up to the county prosecutor to decide if this shooting was justified.